Ok, so here it is. This could be an easy fix and it may allready be fixed, but im wondering if it is more than what i have found . I dont want to be stuck 1.5 hours away on a sunday afternoon again.
So I turn the key and as soon as it would attempt to crank it gives out a milisec of a crank and bam stopped with all electric gone. At that point i cannot even remove the key from the ignition (it can turn tho with no elec responce), I try the obvious ( Unlock shifter down to 1 and back to P, Turn the wheel as much as possible to release the key etc, and try to turn the key and no responce, no i didnt check my battery connections read below) Now this time the electric came back on in the matter of 3-5 mins and i got that famous beep that the key is in the ignition etc. so (leaving the key in the ignition) I come back 5 mins later and it started up like nothing happend no problem cranking no elec off nothing, but exactly 7 starts later after sitting over nite into 1 pm next day my problem wasnt so easy. This time ...the elec acted similar, but it wouldnt crank this time when i waited a few mins, everytime i tried it would cut off the elec as usual for sometiems a longer interval than 5 mins, So what i did was check my terminals this time and they were fine (got a battery in july) so i disconnected them and reconnected them. The elec would allwasy come back in a short period before and after the terminal replug. So I sat back said a prayer and... bam ...like nothing ever happend. And since that problematic issue i have not found this occur anymore (been running errands, work, going out nothing!) Did i fix this problem or is a deeper menace which will be risky when travelling around and possibly gettin stuck as I almost did before. like the next time will be the last ?? (startin to travel with the season ahead and seeing a long distance babe) Thanks for any support YAWL

 

i had the same problem last year. i believe there might be two problems:

The most probable solution is found in the anti theft mechanism. If you read the circuit diagram, if the antitheft is not disabled (by just pressing unlock on a remote or something) then it will disable the relay that will allow power to the starter motor. you can try to see if that circuit is somehow screwy. if you are totally lost, i can try to look at the circuit diagram later on tonight and try to post a pic of it to show you what to look for.

A cheap solution is to pull the antitheft fuse inside the cabin (kinda easy to disable, not much of an antitheft afterall) and it should be able to start. it does get weird when you try to put it back in without unplugging and re-pluggin in the battery (after you finished driving) since the antitheft circuit isnt allowed to "reset". if you see ur antitheft thing acting weird when your trying to lock ur doors, just unplug/plug in battery.

Another problem could be just the wires underneath the steering wheel. my dad went through and fixed and cleaned up all the connections he could see. this shouldnt take too long, esp on a nice day. since then i've had no problems with starting up (besides maybe the occassional nudge of the gear shift into park).

also you could try to shift it into neutral to start it that way. might work but for me it didnt make a difference; car still wouldnt start last year.

 

much appreciated doughboi I sorta like tha antitheft tho Horn/Lights go off etc. But i will definately used your advice to the fullest. thanks again

 

You might want to follow the leads from the battery terminals.I've had problems with mine before and I basically replaced some cables and cleaned connections.

 

next time go from P to L to N and try and start it. and try a non-centered position on N, a little forward or a little backward of being fully seated in N. if it works reliably when you play with your shifter, it might be the inhibitor thingy.

when you say "NO electrical" do you mean that even the CEL and battery light and oil light die? or do they stay on?

 

I've run into this a couple of times on different vehicles- try replacing the connectors on the battery posts, and make sure to strip back the wire before putting the new connectors on. It sounds like the terminals and connectors aren't making good contact. Starting pulls the most juice out of the battery, so this is when the problem is most likely to be noticed.

 

I second the advice to look again at the main battery connections. Make sure the the terminal connections to the battery posts are clean and tight AND that the terminal connections to the wires are clean and tight, and also check the ground wire where it connects to the engine, and the positive cable connection at the starter. If any of these connections are dirty or loose, they can conduct fine under low power draw, but when you key the starter and it puts a big draw on the connection, the resistance builds up quickly and the power shuts down.

 

yeah nothing, no locks, no dome, no dash lights, I can try the shifter but I believe it wasnt working in past attempts.

 

Yeah nothing obvious like looseness or dirtiness. Tight and clean but once i unplugged/replugged. 1st attempt afterwards was like nothing had happened. And it luckily has not happened since. Is this going to continue to be a"quick replugg" as is?, or happen and become a into a reinstall on the spot really stuck?? to the point of no luck starting untill a reinstall?

Thanks Yawl

 

Usually things like the dome light are constantly hot, and do not run through any relays. It's just battery voltage through a fuse, so if you aren't getting juice to the dome light, that really limits the potential problem areas. I'm still going with a bad connection somewhere in the main power circuit, being battery / cables / terminals / starter / main ground, even if it all looks good.

 

i would try to turn on anything electrical, including headlights (which should illuminate some other buttons and switches), trunk light, stereo, etc and see what comes on. if one does come on, it'll narrow down where the bad connection is. if none, then there might be more than one (including the main connectors).

one way to check for electrical problems with certain parts of the electrical sys would be to check the voltage and/or current across the fuses (in the fuse box) inside the cabin. if all are not at spec, then replace the main cables to the battery. also check various grounds around the whole engine compartment since there are tons of them. not sure if you need ALL of them to work.

i kno you said you checked the connectors, but on mines there was some kind of hard mineral buildup on the inside surface of the connector. try to double check the inside surface and clean it out well with brush or CLR.

If you have access to the electrical diagram, try to check the components that branch out from the battery (if there is an overall diagram, but only might be diagrams for individual sections of the car). it also might be a relay problem of some sort so look for those in the diagram if replacing main cables doesnt work or u just dont want to do it. this might be more tedious and some might be in weird places.

keep trying and see what you come up with. im interested in what the solution is since sooner or later, my max is gonna have that prob too.

 

if everything dies, then the shifter is definintely not the problem. the shifter inhibitor switch prevents the starter from recieving current. sounds like your starter is using all your available current.

 

I'm not an expert on the matter but I want to share my experience, same problem happen to me about a year ago, problem happen randomly when I just stop by to buy a drink or at the gas station, the car just died completely, it just crank a bit and then nothing, I also tried everything and then 20 minutes later, turn on normally. This happen to me about 6 times until I find out I had a bad starter, bought a new one, install and voila! never happen again!

 

I had really bad starter problems about 3 years ago.and reinstalled as needed.. so i hope that isnt the case, Im gonna have to triple check all of my power connections, terminals, and voltages on the circuits.
What my main concern is, is this a possible nightmare that will become harder to start as i am doing and leave me stranded with no chance of a start untill a full diagnosis?(reinstall cables/starter/terminals)?. Or can i go around with how im doing it now, an occasinal prob that is an somewhat "easy fixer" when it happens? I'll get around to the triple checking sometime this week.THanks Yawl,

 

Have you driven the car since the above problems? Has it done this again? With everything going dead at one time it sounds like a battery connection problem. Could be you fixed it when you reconnected the battery (clean posts and connectors just in case). One of the contacts may have been loose or corroded. The only other thing I can think of would be an intermintant broken connection in the battery, a broken terminal or plate connection inside the battery (rare). Any problems with the electrical system when you go over bumps?

 

Like others, I still feel it is in the main power system somewhere. Possibly the starter or battery (though the battery is a little less likely, they don't go bad that way very often, but it does happen sometimes). It is possible that the problem WAS one of your battery terminals, and when you reinstalled them you fixed the problem. If that was NOT the problem, then I would have to say that it is only likely to get worse, not better, until you properly diagnose it and make repairs.

 

thanks main, i will definately check all these things out, prolly let yawl know by end of the week.

 

biggest daily driver around , and it has not happened since the reconnect!! no problems with road conditions effecting the electric. Thanks

 

Good, Hope it stays that way. Probably was the battery terminal connection.

 

That reminds me, I need to replace the fuse able links on the 240, I had to zip tie them together and I drifted on them all summer lol. Time to order some new ones....

~Alex

 

If the problem comes back, rather than just disconnect and reconnect the terminals, replace them with new ones (cheap) and at the same time reterminate the connectors to the ground and the starter. In my case (on my truck at least) the corrosion was inside the molded terminals. Replaced the stuff and hasn't happened since.

 

awsome....appreciate the time